FTC, began looking into Apple’s sales practices in 2016. But, did not punish it. (Image: Reuters)

Japanese regulators on Wednesday said Apple Inc may have breached antitrust rules by forcing mobile service providers to sell its iPhones cheaply and charge higher monthly fees, denying consumers a fair choice.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said that Apple had forced NTT Docomo Inc, KDDI Corp and SoftBank Group Corp to offer subsidies and sell iPhones at a discount.